BioShock Infinite

Irrational Games released a new video today detailing the creation of AI companion Elizabeth in BioShock Infinite.

The video explores the voice acting, motion capturing, and design philosophies employed to bring Elizabeth to life in a believable, dynamic way.

In an interview with Eurogamer, animation director Shawn Robertson talked about breathing life into Elizabeth through animation and art direction

“Some of the stuff other people have done with facial capture like LA Noire I think is brilliant, but when we were looking at what we needed,” Robertson said. “First we wanted Elizabeth to not have human proportions, even if you look at her face it’s obvious we’ve given her larger eyes, a larger mouth … I mean, if you saw a real person walking around looking like her you’d think she was odd!

“We wanted to exaggerate her facial structure so that you could see her across the room and read the expression she has on her face. Even at 1080p your ability as a player to look at the screen and analyse what’s going on – that is tough,” says Robertson. “There are so many things – a gun, the UI, combat, things to pick up, you’re moving constantly. So the resolution you’re seeing all these things at is diminished somewhat just by the pure choice you have in what to look at. So we wanted to give Liz a nudge up, and that’s why she’s hyper-realistic.”

Watch the women who came together to build Elizabeth tell their respective stories:

Source: Eurogamer